Straw Poll Shocker in Ames, Iowa

The stock market is in free fall because of the political mess in Washington and America’s increasing lack of confidence in the Fed. Twenty years ago, corporate earnings momentum and P/E ratios guided successful investors on the search to win the investment wars. Today, the political climate and Fed action rank one and two, no doubt about it. An investor out of touch with today’s politics/Fed one-two punch has little chance of gauging the investment climate.

This Saturday, wet fingers will be up in the air all over Ames, Iowa, as Americans seek to gain some political insight from the Ames Straw Poll. As the clock ticks down, one Republican candidate appears to be building momentum for a surprise, right at the finish line. Here I am referring to Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Ron Paul is rapidly gaining momentum in Iowa because he is the candidate with the best chance of beating President Obama in 2012. There are, of course, more polls than you can shake a stick at, but my longtime favorite for reliability is Rasmussen. And Rasmussen clearly shows Ron Paul as having the best chance of cleaning out Barack Obama.

On my desk is a copy of Dr. Paul’s Liberty Defined —50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom, as well as End The Fed and The Case For Gold. In Liberty Defined, Ron Paul writes, “History has proven it again and again: No system of government is a good one once the government grows too big and powerful. If the government is small and unintrusive, the form of government doesn’t matter that much.” Dr. Paul also writes about the business cycle, the American empire (a real page turner), democracy, education, executive power (should be read by every American), global warming, gun control, monetary policy, states’ rights, taxes, terrorism, unions, the CIA, and much much more.

On gun control, Dr. Paul writes, “History shows us that another tragedy of gun laws is genocide. Hitler, for example, knew well that in order to enact his ‘final solution,’ disarmament was a necessary precursor.” I have followed Ron Paul’s work for more than three decades and can tell you that no other politician in Washington has the depth of knowledge and correct understanding of America’s needs that Dr. Paul has. In Liberty Defined, Ron Paul literally wrote the book for America.